Parker County Mammoth Dig

Victory! Mammoth tusk is safely in the Weatherford College lab.

I'm sure everyone in the DFW area has noticed the exploding housing market with new construction all around. A few months ago a man building a new home in Parker County, between Weatherford and Springtown, made an exciting discovery, a Columbian Mammoth's fossilized bones. Very cool!

My daughter is taking summer classes at Weatherford College from instructor William C. Seigler. Seigler instructs geology at the college and writes novels when he's not exhuming mammoths or shaping young impressionable minds at the college. William Seigler has published several exciting novels, visit his site here. Seigler's geology class is working to remove the fossilized bones from the home build site and transport them to the college lab for study.

Instructor and Author William C. Seigler

This weekend my husband and daughter had the privilege of assisting Seigler and crew remove a 10,500 year old mammoth tusk from the site and delivering it to Weatherford College.

The team arrived at the dig site early in the morning, to minimize exposure to the hot July sun. The bones are extremely fragile and must be handled with utmost care. Moving the tusks without damaging them will be difficult.

First, all dirt around the fossil must be carefully and gently removed.  All material removed from the site is sifted through to ensure all mammoth fragments are captured. Once the fossil is freed of it's earthly ties, the fossil is encased in a plaster and burlap shell. After several coats of carefully applied plaster and burlap, the team lifted the tusk and carefully strapped it down in the bed of the truck for it's short ride to the college. For the fist time in thousands of years, this tusk was on the move!

The dig site with both tusks encased in plaster
for transport to the Weatherford College Lab.

The ride to the college was uneventful, it was loaded onto a dolly and rolled into the lab to cheers and excitement all around. Ultimately, all of the fossils will be exhumed and transport to the college for study. The professors and students hope to determine the age of the mammoth and how long its been buried in North Texas.

It's amazing that something so cool could be found when clearing the ground for a new home. With all the new home construction in the area, what else will be discovered? To discover your new home, call me and I'll be excited to help you unearth it!

April Smith
Keller Williams Real Estate Agent
www.dfwteam1.com
817-243-6508

Students unearthing fossils in preparation for transport.

Sifting for fossils

The first tusk rolling into the college.

DFW Team 1 would like to thank all involved that made this incredible recovery possible!

Texas Master Naturalists

Tarrant County Archeological Society

Texas Archeological Society

Waco National Mammoth Monument

Baylor University Paleontology Department

Texas A&M Geoscience Department

Texas Historical Commission

Travis and Parker County Stewards

University of Texas at Arlington Anthropology Department

Weatherford College: faculty, staff, and students

Perot Museum of Nature and Science

Arlington Gem and Mineral Society